Natasha Chandri Egieara

Mineral Processing

1306436741

Circulating Load Ratio

Circulating load ratio (CLR) is defined as the ratio of the amount of solids going through the
ball mill divided by the amount of solids going through the circuit. Therefore, the value
calculated should determine the number of passes through the mill needed to generate the
total amount of new circuitm product. It is immensely important to grinding circuit efficiency
as it diminishes returns dictate optimum economic operational valued of approximately 350%
to 400% for most primary ball milling circuits. The circulating load ratio equation is:
C ac
=
F ba
where:

Fig 1. The Circulating Load Scheme

Fig 2. Ball Mill Circuit Productivity vs. Circulating Load Ratio

Natasha Chandri Egieara

Mineral Processing

1306436741

The figure above shows the association of higher circulating ratio with the loss of cyclone
classifier basic sharpness of separation and increased bypass of fines; this leads to the
diminishing returns with increased circulating load ratio. The higher the CLR, the more
productive the circuit will be; especially when compared to the open circuit (0% CLR) and
this relationship exists because the size distribution of the material going through the ball mill
was coarser at high CLR compared to low CLR. Moreover, the high circulating load ratio
simply means that the slurry passes through the mill rapidly thus preventng the build-up of
fines and is sent to the cyclones quickly for the removal of fines. Therefore, this proves that
the most efficient ball milling circuits require a high circulating load ratio with addition of a
capable pump where this can be achieved through the maintenance of high percentage of
coarse solids in the mill and It can be concluded that the more circulating load; the longer
long grading uniform, the less slime product and the less energy consumption will be.
Reference:

Introduction to Mineral Processing Design and Operation A. Gupta and D.S. Yan.

Perth, Australia, January 2006.

http://www.metcomtech.com/grindingbulletin1.php
Bench Scale and Pilot Plant Tests For Circulating Load in the Crushing and Milling
Circuit, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran.